A DISTRAUGHT family have blamed doctors at a Merseyside hospital for a young woman’s death four weeks after she had an abscess removed.

Cerri Gore, 20, of Wavertree, had the growth lanced at the Royal Liverpool Hospital but went on to develop a deadly infection.

Her heartbroken family believe medics could have stopped the bug from attacking her major organs and delayed giving her the right medication.

But bosses at the Royal, who launched their own investigation, said all “active and appropriate” treatment was provided.

Talks between doctors and Cerri’s family are ongoing.

Cerri’s brother Carl, 35, a support worker, said: “ If they had caught it, she would be here today.

“We would not be going to cemeteries and I would not have to support my mother, who has had a nervous breakdown.”

Cerri went to the Royal on August 23 after she developed an abscess the size of a 2p piece on her groin.

The growth was cut and drained, swabs were taken from the wound and she was sent home without antibiotics.

Nine days later, she was back in the Royal with stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Cerri was preliminary diagnosed with sepsis – a serious medical condition which can lead to multiple organ failure – but doctors were unsure of what was causing it.

Blood tests, scans and x-rays were carried out and she was given fluids and an antibiotic through a drip.

The next day, doctors were told by lab results that she was fighting a blood infection and prescribed further antibiotics.

She was put in intensive care when her condition deteriorated but died from multiple organ failure in the early hours of September 25.

Cerri was fighting a bacterial infection called staphylococcal aureus (SA) which is commonly found on people’s skin. It only causes problems if it gets into the bloodstream. The more commonly known MRSA is a strain of the bug.

Cerri’s infection probably came from the abscess, but the family questioned the care she was given.

They claimed:

If Cerri was given antibiotics straight after the growth was removed, the infection would not have been allowed to take hold.

Swab results taken when the abscess was removed, showing the presence of the bacterial infection, were available three days after the procedure but the hospital made no attempt to inform Cerri.

Doctors suspected sepsis on the same day Cerri was admitted but there was a delay in giving her the antibiotics she was subsequently prescribed.

Medics should have known she had a bacterial infection because of the result from the wound swab and moved her to intensive care sooner.

Cerri had a pre-existing liver condition called congenital hepatic fibrosis, which made her less likely to survive sepsis.

In its report, the hospital said antibiotics were not given to Cerri after the abscess was removed because her wound was “clean” and not inflamed, but one doctor admitted because Cerri had suffered an abscess in the same spot before, “antibiotic therapy” may have been appropriate.

It went on to say: “[When Cerri was admitted] the clinical impression at the time was one of sepsis and appropriate investigations were performed. All active and appropriate treatment was provided.”

Diane Wake, executive director of nursing and operations, added: “We thoroughly investigated Cerri’s family’s concerns. Cerri’s family has agreed to meet us and we will discuss all their concerns. ”